


Escape the Night – Living Dolls: Cecelia is Insane!

by Dede42



Series: Living Dolls [1]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Dolls, Dresses, Mind Control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24556525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dede42/pseuds/Dede42
Summary: When Delta gets picked up by the Society Against Evil and brought to one of their bases, she learns that Cecelia has taken Mystic and others to turn into living dolls, and she can't help but feel excluded.Can those who have been taken be rescued? And can Delta be of any use, or will she be useless?
Series: Living Dolls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774900
Comments: 26
Kudos: 4





	1. PROLOGUE: MULTIPLE REALITIES

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ETNMystic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A Real Doll Of a Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24049177) by [ETNMystic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic). 



> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> I started writing this POV after Mystic posted her A Real Doll of a Girl story, and Delta got mentioned in one of the chapters. I don't know why I do this to myself, but here we go. Onward!

**PROLOGUE: MULTIPLE REALITIES**

*****

There are many theories pertaining to the existence of multiple realities and dimensions, and that our universe is part of a much larger multiverse that our universe is connected to. For some people, the concept of a multiverse existing, they see it as a cool plot tool to keep a story going, and among the stories, as a means to show what a character’s future could be like had they made a different choice during their lives.

But what is it was possible for someone to write a story that would be able to influence reality? What if they wrote stories that fell under multiple timelines that were slowly being brought to life, connected to others writing similar stories that were being influence to the point that they were starting to converge together?

For over a year, this is what has been happening: my friend, Mystic, indirectly allowed the Cursed God from _Escape the Night_ access to the real world by way of her writings, and in that time other ETN wrights, including myself, had been drawn into ehe various timelines. And at the moment, these timelines are Our Entirety Together; the Possession AU, and more recently the Fugitive AU.

I am involved in these AU’s, and yet I can’t help but get the feeling that Mystic might be working on another storyline that could end end up dragging us all into it once again. If this is the case, then I intend to be as helpful as possible, and not be left out or excluded.


	2. CHAPTER ONE: TAKEN SOMEWHERE SAFE…I HOPE?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Yeah, doing several updates today and I really wanted to get the ball rolling on this story. Onward!

**CHAPTER ONE:** **TAKEN SOMEWHERE SAFE…I HOPE?**

*****

When the pandemic, quarantine, shutdown, or whatever you want to call it first started, it didn’t have an affect on my life at first, or so I thought until I realized that I was getting less shifts at the movie theater that I’d been working at for five years. Even then, I thought things were being slow, and that they were cutting back hours until the next big movie came out.

Turns out that I was wrong and they were reducing shifts because of the restrictions being placed because of COVID-19, and the few shifts that I had, I ended up being sent home early each time. Other times, I’d get a message that I wouldn’t be needed to come in, and it was around that time that it was decided to shut down the whole movie theater chain until such time that the restrictions would be lifted.

This was a punch to the gut for me, and it didn’t end there. My other job was also being affected, only not as badly, but there were restrictions of where I could take my client, and at least one of the malls chose to shut down for the time being.

Even the public libraries in the area were closing down until further notice, my art teacher decided to stop art lessons for the time being, and it was starting to look like I was going to be stuck at home 24/7, an experience I’d already gone through once before, and I hoped never to go through again.

The good news was that two of the universities were keeping their libraries opened, along with limited food court access, and so on certain days of the week, I was able to go to those libraries in an effort to keep me from having the same emotional and mental shutdown phase back in 2001.

Anyway, when Mystic went missing back in November of 2018, I knew that something was off, the same during the ongoing The Fugitive AU, and yet, I didn’t even realize that something was going on this time around, due to the stress and everything going on with the shutdown.

This time, when Alice, Mystic, Cyrille, and Aoibhe weren’t on Discord that often, I figured that they were busy with online school and other activities that could be done during this time, or had been asked by their parents to cut back on their online hours.

That was what I was thinking at the time, until something changed all that, and it was something I hadn’t expected to happen at all.

*****

May, 2020.

Utah.

It was a sunny spring day, and I was actually outside, finishing up on spray painting the poles I used for my Halloween decorating green, having already spray painted them white to reduce any further rusting. I was also filming at the same time with my phone, and when I was done, I put away the spray paint, stopped filming, and uploaded the video onto my YouTube channel.

All done, I headed up the stairs to the back balcony and I went inside the house, needing something cool to drink after being outside in the heat.

*****

I went downstairs to the family room with my ice water that had a lemon wedge in the bottle, and sat down to do some work on my laptop, for it was one of those rare days when I was at home alone, what with my dad giving my sister Amanda a ride, and mom had taken my sister Mackenzie to a doctor’s appointment.

I referred to this as a rare day since, due to the shutdown, we all were home a lot, and to be perfectly honest, it was getting on my nerves and adding stress to my life that I really didn’t need. Of course, it did help that the mayor of my hometown was sane, compared to some mayors who were insistent that people just stay home at all times, and only leave their houses to jobs that can’t be done from home or for appointments and shopping.

_‘I can leave the house and go to the library,’_ I thought, sipping my drink, _‘but there are those who can’t even do that for different reasons, and I think anyone who tells the cops to give tickets to people for leaving their homes to work that can’t be done from home is dumb, more so to arrest them, is even dumber.’_

I pushed those thoughts away and settled down to check my email and do some more fanfic writing…well, more ETN story writing since that was the latest kick I was on, that and RPing with my friends for _The Fugitive AU_ , and get written into Mystic’s storyline.

_‘I just hope that Mystic will write more of the latest OET installment,’_ I thought, halfway through checking my emails, _‘and my part in it will keep growing more then it has of late in the current AU.’_ I pushed those thoughts away as well, and it was then that I became aware that someone was in the house that wasn’t a member of my family.

“Huh?” I slowly set my drink aside, positive that I heard someone walking around upstairs, and I made sure to close my laptop and hid it away before I quietly opened the door and peered out – to see that the door to my bedroom was open. _‘Ok, I_ know _that I shut my door.’_

Feeling uneasy, I quietly shut the door, locked it, picked up the house phone, and retreated back toward the TV while I dialed 911. I put the phone to my ear, listening to it ring several times before it stopped and, yet, I couldn’t hear anyone on the other end. “Hello?” I whispered. “Hello, can you hear me?”

After a few minutes, I head a dial tone and I quietly groaned. “ _Seriously_.” I tried again, having been about to push the green button when I heard the door get unlocked, and I shrank down, willing myself to become invisible for that _exact_ moment.

_‘I’m not here,’_ I thought, _‘I’m not here, I’m invisible, I’m not here, I’m invisible, I’m not here, I’m in-’_

“Delta?”

I started and dropped the phone, snapping my eyes opened, I saw Jael and Ryu standing over me, and Jael had a bag in one hand. “Jael, Ryu? Uh, why’re you here?” I was genially surprised to see them, and a bit wary as well due to the twists in _The Fugitive AU_. “What’s going on?”

“There’s trouble,” Jael told me, holding out a hand which, after I hesitated for a moment, took and let her help me up while Ryu retrieved the phone and returned it to its’ slot. “And this isn’t the best place to share any information with you…for she could be watching and listening right now.”

I was tempted to ask who, but I decided to wait, and left the house with them, noting that Jael had clearly been in my bedroom since I now recognized the pale blue bag as my vacation bag for my clothes.

*****

We got into one of the Society Against Evil’s vehicles, and I was admittedly feeling a bit nervous since I wasn’t sure if this was the version of SAE I could trust, or the version that wanted to hand my soul over to Cecelia and brainwash me into be being their matron library agent.

“Can I ask who’s up to no good or do I still have to wait?” I asked once the vehicle was in motion. “You said ‘she’, so I’m guessing it must be Kerrie, the Arcane Divinity, E2, or maybe Cecelia.”

“You’ll get your answers once we’re at the Sanctuary base,” Jael answered, leaving me a bit disappointed, and then I was nervous when I saw that Ryu had taken out a small black medical bag and was extracting both a syringe and a medical bottle.

I stared at the two items uneasily. “Uh… _what?_ ”

“Don’t worry, Delta,” Ryu said reassuringly while inserting the syringe into the bottle and extracting some of the contents. “It’s just a sedative that I need to give you to ensure that the location of the base remains a secret.”

I didn’t feel reassured or convinced as I wasn’t a fan of needles or even getting a shot. Heck, I avoid looking whenever I’ve gotten shots, have had blood work done, and when I’ve donated blood. “Excuse me if I’m not reassured.”

“It’ll be fine,” Jael assured me, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.

I still wasn’t keen on getting a shot, but I nodded, rolled up the right sleeve of my t-shirt, and, after Ryu rubbed rubbing alcohol on my shoulder, I turned away and shut me eyes tightly, trying to go to a happy place in my mind.

I gritted my teeth and inhaled a bit sharply when I felt the sting of the needle going in, along with the sensation of the sedative flowing into my blood stream, and it was only after the pain started fading and Ryu put a bandaid onto the spot that I opened my eyes, but I was already feeling drowsy.

“Ok…” I mumbled, lying back against the seat, feeling light-headed. “When…we get…there. I will…want…some answers…ok?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Nodding, I let my eyes closed as I fell into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did include some of my own real life thoughts about how this whole shutdown business has been affecting me in real life, and of late, the insecurities I dealt with while growing up, have been resurfacing for some reason.
> 
> Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. CHAPTER TWO: CECLIA DID WHAT?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Ok, this is the final update for today, and you'll see more of Delta's thoughts and emotions in this chapter, especially after she finds out what's going on and who the bad guy is. Onward!

**CHAPTER TWO:** **CECELIA** **DID** _ **WHAT?!** _

*****

When I started waking up, I overheard Ryu and Jael quietly talking about progress being made to rescue those who’d been taken, the picking up of the authors and ETN guests who were probably going to be targeted, and then something that sent a pang in my heart.

_`“She took the other girls so quickly, why not Delta?”`_ Ryu wondered.

_`“I don’t know,”`_ Jael admitted, _`“but she clearly has her reasons for why she took who she did.”`_

_`“Should this be mentioned to Delta when we tell her what has been going on?”`_ Ryu asked, and I was certain that he was glancing at me.

Jael most likely shook her head before answering. _`“No, it’ll probably just break her heart and make her feel like she’s doesn’t belong or worse.”`_

_‘And she’s right,’_ I thought, fighting back the tears, _‘if whoever is behind this didn’t come after me, then it probably means that I’m not worth being taken.’_ Getting my emotions under control, I made a sound to let them know that I was waking up, and when I opened my eyes, I straightened up in my seat and looked through the windows to figure out where we were.

Just ahead was a large brick building, but I couldn’t see any way to get inside. “Uh, is that it?”

Jael nodded when the vehicle parked near the building. “Yes, come on.” She got out with my bag, and I followed with Ryu getting out and following us both.

I watched as Jael reached the wall, did something, and a doorway appeared. _‘Cool!’_ I thought. _‘A hidden door!’_ And I eagerly followed her inside with Ryu bringing up the rear, and soon I was undergoing a series of scans and codes, which lead me to getting my own unique code. I figured that this was being done to ensure that no bad guys could sneak inside.

*****

Once the process was done, I was able to enter the main area, where I was immediately being hugged by Safiya, and I was nearly knocked over. “Whoa! Hey, hi, Saf.”

“Del! I’m glad that they were able to bring you in without any trouble,” said Safiya as I awkwardly returned the hug. “I was worried that you got taken.”

I felt that pang in my heart, but I shoved it away. “No, not taken this time. What’s going on?”

“You’ll get that answer and more after you’ve seen your room,” said Jael, interrupting the reunion and held up my bag.

“Oh right.”

*****

After seeing my room, which was nice, and I had a chance to put away the clothes and items that Jael had taken from my bedroom back home, I followed her to what looked like a conference room, where most of the ETN YouTubers were seated, and I was seated with Safiya and MatPat.

I realized which YouTubers were missing, and they were all female, which made what I’d overheard between Ryu and Jael make more sense. Whoever was behind this, was clearly targeting women, and that made the fact that I wasn’t taken hurt more.

“I know you have questions, Delta,” Jael said once we were all seated, “and I’m hoping that this debriefing will help answer those questions. Ceceliais behind the abductions, and Mystic is her primary target.”

A holographic projection appeared above the table, showing Mystic, Alice, Cyrille, Aoibhe, Teala, Ro, Nikita, Sierra, Colleen, Andrea R., Andrea B., Justine, and-

“Lydia Deetz?” I asked, surprised to see the broadway version of the goth girl from _Beetlejuice_. “Why is Cecelia going after her?”

“Unclear,” said Jael, “but what is also known is that Ceceliahas partnered up with Calvin, who we all know is obsessed with dolls, and I fear that is what is being done to those taken…they are being made into living dolls.”

I felt my heart dropped into my stomach. “ Ceceliais doing _what?!_ ” I yelped.

Jael nodded grimly. “Yes, and measures are being taken to rescue them,” she assured both myself and group, which had had similar reactions to this news, even though they probably had known before I did. “Rest assure that those who’d been taken will be saved.”

I nodded, a bit spooked. “I know that they will.”

*****

After the debriefing was done, I went back to my room and sat at the desk with a laminated copy of the list of the names of those who’d been taken, and I stared at it, feeling that same pang in my heart once again.

1\. Mystic.

2\. Alice.

3\. Cyrille.

4\. Aoibhe.

5\. Lydia Deetz.

6\. Andrea B.

7\. Justine.

8\. Sierra.

9\. Andrea R.

10\. Teala.

11\. Colleen.

12\. Ro.

A single tear fell from my eye and onto the sheet, which I quickly wiped away, and I tried to get my emotions under control. _‘_ _Cecelia_ _didn’t pick me,’_ I thought, feeling the negative feelings that came up whenever I was feeling excluded, left out, useless, or invisible. _‘To turn my friends into dolls is wrong, but she didn’t pick me, and that hurts.’_

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and I couldn’t help but decide why it was I hadn’t been taken. I had nice blue eyes, I had peaches-and-cream skin that rarely got pimples, my hair was dark brown and curly, although I thought I would need another haircut soon, and I did dress more modest, but that was how I’d been raised.

I finally decided that the reason why I hadn’t been targeted by Cecelia, it had to do with my weight, and that was something that I’d been struggling with for a while. Yeah, that was most likely why I wasn’t picked to be a doll by Cecelia, it was my weight, and in her eyes, that meant that I wasn’t cute or adorable like the others.

_‘I won’t let the others know that’s what I’m thinking about,’_ I vowed to myself. _‘They’re under enough stress as it is because of our friends being taken, and they don’t need my negativity to make them feel any worse.’_

I would keep that promise to myself, and no one would know about how upset I was for not even being on Cecelia’s radar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feelings that Delta's feeling, these are feelings that I've struggled with myself on more then one occasion, and I will admit that when I wrote this, I did start tearing up for real. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. CHAPTER THREE: OPERATION: RESCUE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Now, I don't normally post on Sundays, but I felt like I needed to clear something up and get this posted. Bye the time that the SAE brings Delta to the base for her own safety, none of the girls taken by Cecelia (Yeah, to be respectful to Chala, her OCs are being removed and replaced with OCs created by Mystic) have been rescued yet, and due to recent chapters posted by Mystic, it looks like I was right about Delta not being targeted. Onward!

**CHAPTER THREE:** **OPERATION: RESCUE**

*****

Over the next few days, a plan was set in motion by the SAE to start on rescuing those who’d been taken by Cecelia, and they were making a point for myself and the others to be present at the meeting in order to be kept up to date on what was going on.

This was a nice change of pace, but I still couldn’t get rid of the feelings that’d been brought on by the fact that Cecelia hadn’t considered me worthy to be targeted, and yet I didn’t voice these feelings to anyone. I knew that I should talk to someone about how I was feeling, but I wasn’t sure if anyone in the group would understand.

Instead, I focused on other stuff, especially with all that was available at the base. Yes, there were areas that were off-limits to those who weren’t SAE members, but there was still plenty of stuff that we all could do, and whenever I was spending time in the library, Manny and Bretman kept dragging me out when they thought it’d been long enough.

Of course, it was an excuse for them to try and get me to change my fashion choices, which was an uphill battle that they were refusing to lose, no matter how much I protested that my sense of style was just fine, and it usually resulted in both beauty gurus chasing me around until they either gave up, or I stopped for fear of having an asthma attack.

*****

During one of the meetings about the rescue mission, we were joined by Ivy Flora, the big sister of Envy Flora, and another of Mystic’s OCs. Ivy was also Mystic’s girlfriend, and so it made sense that she would be wanting to help with the rescue mission.

I was shocked to learn from Ivy that she’d been with Mystic when they’d been ambushed by Cecelia, and the next thing that Ivy knew, Cecelia had run off with Mystic. I could tell that Ivy was pissed and was looking forward to some revenge on Cecelia when they would next meet, and I hoped that I wouldn’t be there to witness the fight between them.

*****

One day I was in the gym, getting in some exercise so that I could on losing weight while I was at the base, when I heard a loud commotion from outside, and Joey ran in with an excited expression on his face.

“Delta! One of the girls have been saved!”

I hit the paused button on the treadmill I’d been using and looked at him while rubbing the sweat off my forehead. “Really?”

“Yeah! Come on!” And he ran back out, excited.

I left the treadmill and ran after Joey, deciding to finish my workout at a later date, and I was eager to see who’d been rescued first.

*****

I arrived in the mall hall, which was where everyone entered and left the base, and I could see a reunion going on among the ETN YouTubers. Reaching the celebrating group, I saw that Roi was hugging Teala Dunn, who was wearing a magenta dress for some reason, tightly, and I figured that she’d been the first one to be saved.

I reached the edge of the group, but I didn’t feel like I should intrude, when Teala saw me after she was done hugging Roi and swept me up into a hug, surprising me. “Oof! Hey, Teala!”

“Hey, Delta!”

*****

After all the hugging was done and Teala had a chance to change out of the dress, Jael had us all go into the conference room for the debrief, and we learned from Teala that she’d been the first one to be taken by Cecelia, who figured that no one would miss the brown girl as she was considered to be not worth anyone’s time based on what happened in ETN 3.

There were objections to this, but Teala admitted that she had felt a bit useless while in Everlock, but had truly been surprised to have been kidnapped by Cecelia, and be the first one to be turned into a living doll, having thought if this happened, Mystic would be targeted first, not her.

“Why do you think Ceceliatook you and turned you into a living doll for?” Calliope inquired. “Why you first?”

“She wanted me there as a means for Mystic to have company,” Teala answered. “And that’s why the other girls were taken, too. To be company for Mystic.”

‘ _Cecelia_ _took those who she considers to be close to Mystic,’_ I thought as a discussion broke out over this new information of why Cecelia had taken those particular girls. _‘I consider myself to be fairly close, but I still wasn’t taken, and most likely because_ _Cecelia_ _doesn’t consider me to be a close friend of Mystic.’_ That pang returned to my heart, and I had to work hard not to react to it, returning my attention to the discussion and what was to be done to save the other girls.

*****

When the meeting was over, I decided not to finish my workout, instead I just collected my stuff from the gym and went back to my room, feeling like I shouldn’t be there, and that there hadn’t been a point to the SAE taking me from my parents’ home since it was becoming increasingly clear that not only was I not a Lilith’s radar, I clearly didn’t qualify as pretty either since dolls are suppose to be pretty.

_‘Clearly I’m not pretty enough to be a doll,’_ I thought bitterly, _‘and I’m clearly not close enough of a friend to Mystic either. No wonder_ _Cecelia_ _didn’t pick me, I’m useless and worthless at the same time.’_

Once again, I hid these thoughts and negative feelings as I got ready and joined the rest for the party being held for Teala, choosing to show only a happy face and a positive attitude around the others.

*****

Over the next week, the mission to rescue those taken by Cecelia bore more results with the rescuing of Alice, Cyrille, Aoibhe, Justine, Andrea B., Sierra, Andrea R., Ro, Colleen, and Nikita, who was thrilled to be freed of the Lolita pink dress she’d been forced to wear, and that meant only Lydia and Mystic were left to be rescued from Cecelia’s clutches.

I hoped that they would be rescued soon, especially for the sake of Ivy, who was clearly about to go bonkers every time she failed to find Mystic at any of the possible locations that Cecelia would’ve taken her.

I also hoped that once everyone was saved, a way to stop Cecelia from doing this again could be figured out, and we all would be able to get back to our regular lives…well, our quarantine lives.

*****

“Whoa!”

“Hey!”

“Chill!”

“We’re not the enemy!”

Hearing the shouting, I ran from the dining room and into the main area, where I found several SAE agents, Tim, Jesse, Joey, and DeStorm trying and failing to calm down a girl with pale skin, looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, had black wavy hair that came to her chin and had a big yellow bow tied in the back, brown eyes, and was wearing a bright yellow dress that _definitely_ didn’t match her skin tone.

“Get the f* off of me!” the girl screamed, kicking, hitting, and was even doing some biting as she screamed at them. “I don’t know who the f* you all are, but I want to go _home!_ Let me out of here!”

“Lydia, please-” Calliope began, and then grunted when she got kicked in the stomach, but that gave me an idea of who this was.

Lydia Deetz from _Beetlejuice_ , and this was clearly the broadway version compared to the movie version.

Lydia managed to break free and ran back for the entrance, but when her way got blocked by Ivy and Envy, she did a quick turn and ran a different way that meant going past me.

_‘I’m probably going to regret this,’_ I thought, deliberately shifting so that I was in her path, and by the time that Lydia realized that I was in her way, I’d let her plowed into me, so that we both went crashing onto the floor. “Oof!”

Lydia also grunted and struggled to get up, and ended up rolling off of me, but she was stunned and winded so she wasn’t able to run…yet.

I also sat up, already feeling sore, and I looked at her. “Well, that’s one way to meet someone new isn’t it?”

Lydia looked at me like I was mental. “What the f*? Why’d you do that?”

“Language, and I did that because you were in panic mode,” I retorted. “You’re no longer with Cecelia, so chill.”

“Cecelia?” Lydia repeated and her eyes widened. “You mean that freaky woman with the red hair and red eyes?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she turned you into a living doll, and then you were saved by the Society Against Evil.”

Lydia was still confused, but she was calming down. “So, this place is safe?”

“Yup.”

The goth girl considered what I’d told her. “Well, if it means I can get out of this stupid yellow dress, I guess I’ll stick around.”

I was glad to hear that as the others ran up, and helped us both up. Lydia held out a hand to me. “Lydia Deetz.”

“Delta.”

And that was how Lydia joined our group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, most of the captured girls have been rescued, and Delta is getting more reasons of why she wasn't even chosen by Cecelia in the first place. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. CHAPTER FOUR: REUNION PART ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Ok, so I wanted to clear up a few things before moving ahead with this chapter: it was pointed out to me that Ivy is the OC for Mystic, and so I fixed that goof. The other thing is that when Delta was brought the SAE base, no one had been rescued yet, and if you've been reading Mystic's A Real Girl of a Doll story, then you'll know why Cecelia didn't choose to go after Delta the first time around. Onward!

**CHAPTER FOUR:** **REUNION PART ONE**

*****

Now, the plan was to debrief Lydia and get her up to speed on everything once she was dressed and looking more like her gothic self, but that plan pretty much got scuttled when word was received that Ivy had found and rescued Mystic, and that they were on their way to the base.

This got everyone excited, and Lydia did mention something that came as a surprise.

“Is she the girl whose thoughts I’d been hearing in my head?”

“You’ve been hearing Mystic’s thoughts?” MatPat asked, surprised and intrigued, which meant that his brain was already working on a theory.

Lydia nodded. “Yeah, I have been ever since the whole doll business. But why?”

“That’s a question for another time,” said Jael. “Right now, we need to be ready for when Ivy arrives with Mystic, who will undoubtedly been in quite an emotional state.”

Jael was right, even I could guess the emotional state that Mystic would most likely be after being turned into a living doll, and the odds were high that it would probably take a lot to talk her down off whichever emotional ledge she would be on when she and Ivy arrived at the base.

*****

While waiting for Ivy and Mystic to show up, I went out to the garden and sat down on a rock near the pond, where I pulled out a sketch pad, and I went to work on a drawing that I’d started yesterday of the area, wanting to keep my drawing skills sharp since I wasn’t sure when art lessons would resume in real life.

Whenever I’m drawing, I tend to tune out the rest of the world, so when I felt a tap on my shoulder during a moment when I’d paused to sharpen my pencil, I ended up yelping and my stuff went flying on the grass. “Agh!”

“Sorry!”

Breathing hard, I put a hand on my chest since my heart was racing, and I turned to find Lydia looking equally spooked. “Oh…Lydia…hey…” I gasped, turning away as my face went red and I started laughing nervously. “Oh gosh…”

Lydia also started laughing and went to help me pick up my stuff. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, Delta.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her, still feeling flushed. “You didn’t mean to startle me, I just tend to get engrossed in my drawing.”

Lydia chuckled. “Can happen to anyone,” she agreed, picking up my sketch pad and examined the drawing. “This is good.”

“Thanks, it’s not done yet,” I said with a small smile. “Still a work in progress.”

Lydia gave me the sketch pad back and, after helping to gather up the rest of my stuff, surprised me again, but this time by sitting on the rock across from me. “I was hoping to talk with you, Del. I can call you Del, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, you can if you want to.”

“Great.” Lydia made herself more comfortable on the rock and then hit me with a tough question right out of the blue. “You feeling left out because you weren’t taken by Cecelia, right?”

I froze for a long moment, not having expected anyone to pick up on that, not even Ro had picked up on how I was feeling, given that she was good at picking up on stuff like that with close friends. “Uh…what would make you think that?”

Lydia smirked in a way that meant she wasn’t buying what I was trying to sell, although I’m sure she would probably use more colorful language. “Right, and I’m actually a girl who likes to smile and dress in bright colors.”

“…”

“Come on, fess up.”

I sighed and set aside my sketch pad. “All right, yes, I’ve been feeling left out because Ceceliadidn’t pick me to be one of her _dolls_. I should be relieved, and I am, but…” I trailed off, feeling the pang in my heart as the negative feelings started rising up once again.

“But you can’t help but feel like you’re not good enough,” Lydia guessed and I nodded. “Been there there myself, BJ can testify to that.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure that he can,” I agreed. “Just, try not to summon him unless you really need to, ok? It’s bad enough with Candy Pop hanging around as it is.”

Lydia chuckled, having meet the purple demon after she’d gotten to change into a black outfit that was more her. “Yeah, why do you guys keep him around anyway?”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s a long story for another time, and I rather have Mystic here to explain it since she plays a big role in what’s going on.”

“Given that I can hear her thoughts, I believe it,” Lydia agreed, and we left it at that for the time being.

*****

It was a few hours later when word reached everyone that Ivy and Mystic had arrived at the base, and were going through the process of entering the base through the main door. We all gathered and waited for the process to be completed to let Mystic inside with Ivy.

It wasn’t long before the doors opened and Ivy carried Mystic, who was wearing a fancy white dress that was more then likely Cecelia’s doing, and set her on the floor, where she was immediately hugged by Ro.

“Mystic!" Ro exclaimed, hugging her close. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Mystic!" Alice ran towards Mystic, and they hugged, too. "You're okay!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a feeling that Lydia is the kind of person who could probably pick up on the fact that Delta wasn't voicing her feelings about the whole not being taken business.
> 
> I will see you all later with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. CHAPTER FIVE: REUNION PART TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Yeah, posting part two to tide you all over the weekend. Onward!

**CHAPTER FIVE:** **REUNION PART TWO**

*****

I stepped forward to greet Mystic next, but I was interrupted by Lydia.

“So that's the girl I've been able to hear the thoughts of?”

_‘Never mind,’_ I thought as the conversation shifted to who’d been taken, the reason why, and the colored dresses, and I just remained quiet, once again feeling that pang in my heart about not having been picked.

“Lydia? How'd they bring you into this?”

“How do you know my name?” Lydia asked, clearly shocked.

“Long story: and you?"

Lydia sighed. "I'll be honest: you're not the first that chick Cecelia’s gotten a hold of for what you went through.”

This surprised Mystic. “Wait, so someone else-?"

"Ro and I were two of them."

"So was I," Sierra sighed.

Mystic was floored, especially when Justine, Alice, Andrea R., Andrea B., Cyrille, Aoibhe, Nikita, Colleen, and Teala all revealed that they’d been taken by Cecelia, too. “Then…who was first?”

Teala sighed and stepped forward. “As far as I know… Cecelia took me first."

"Why?"

"Because it's likely no one would notice she would've gone missing," Nikita scoffed.

"Hey!" Ro snapped, but Teala shook her head.

"Nikita's right,” Teala agreed. “I wouldn't have been looked for until more of us had become dolls in her collection.”

Mystic was clearly surprised by all of this, and she had every right to be. “What does Cecelia even want?" she asked.

"Well," Andrea Brooks sighed. "Unfortunately for you, you're her primary target again. The rest of us are supposed to be there, apparently, to keep you company.”

Mystic shuddered since this wasn’t the first time, and while she didn’t like the idea of staying there to plan for an attack, she had to admit that it was the best option at the time, and Lydia voiced that she was perfectly happy to remain there if it didn’t mean her having to wear a yellow dress and smiling constantly.

Mystic clearly agreed with that, given that she was wearing a white dress and it was a color that she strongly detested for many reasons, and learned from the other girls what colors they’d been forced to wear.

“I got a pastel blue," Alice sighed.

"Magenta," Teala shrugged.

"Blue," Colleen said.

"Pastel pink," Sierra sighed.

"Lolita pink," Nikita gagged.

"Lavender," Ro shivered.

"Pastel yellow," Andrea Russett piped up.

"Gingham blue and a white lace apron," Justine gulped.

"Olive green," Andrea Brooks said.

"Pastel red," Aoibhe gagged.

"Minty green," Cyrille squeaked.

Tears were flowing down Mystic’s face and when she stumbled a bit, Ivy was immediately by her side to support her.

“It'll be okay, love," she assured me. " Ceceliacan't get in 'ere."

"But…what if she gets outside help?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Alison told her. "Now come along. You need to lie down.”

Mystic nodded and turned to go, when she saw me and immediately hugged me tightly. “Delta! You’re here!”

“Yup, I am,” I agreed, grunting a little. “Good to see you safe and sound.”

“Yeah, come on.”

And with that, I got to go with Mystic, Ivy, Lydia, and a few others, which made me feel a bit better.

*****

After spending time with Mystic and our friends, I went back to my bedroom, and I was glad that Mystic was safe in the base. I did still have the negative feelings because of Cecelia, but I did my level best not to let it show, and I hoped that come morning, things would be calm for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Mystic is in the base, is reunited with her friends and girlfriends, is getting to meet Lydia Deetz, and all the while Delta is determined not to let her negative feelings show to let them know how she's feeling about the whole Cecelia situation.
> 
> Yeah, Delta tends to struggling with expressing how she's feeling, and I will see you later.
> 
> Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. CHAPTER SIX: HAIRCUT AND FEELINGS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to wrap up this particular story, but I promise that there's another one in the works, and that we haven't seen the last of the whole Living Dolls business.

**CHAPTER SIX:** **HAIRCUT AND FEELINGS**

*****

1\. Mystic.

2\. Alice.

3\. Cyrille.

4\. Aoibhe.

5\. Lydia Deetz.

6\. Andrea B.

7\. Justine.

8\. Sierra.

9\. Andrea R.

10\. Teala.

11\. Colleen.

12\. Ro.

It was the next day and, once again, I was in my room and staring at the list of those who’d been taken by Cecelia and had been rescued. I knew that this list would be obsolete once Ivy brought Mystic to the base, but I couldn’t stop staring at it and thinking of why I wasn’t picked by Cecelia.

Lydia had hit it on the head when she said that I was feeling left out, and to an extent, I was feeling left out since these girls had been chosen because they were pretty, and I clearly wasn’t pretty enough.

When a tear dropped onto the page, I realized that I was starting to cry, and I quickly wiped away the tears, blowing my nose, and I jumped a little when there was a knock on the door and Ro poked her head into the room.

“Hey, Ro.”

“Hey, Delta!” Ro said brightly. “Mystic’s all ready for getting a haircut, want to come with?”

I couldn’t resist Ro’s cheerful expression, so I set aside the list, and got off my bed. “Sure.” And I went with her to join the other girls in the salon.

*****

I admit that it was interesting to see Mystic let Nikita cut her hair without any arguing for a change, and to see Mystic wearing one of her regular non-white dresses.

We all got to do something to help with the haircutting process, and while I have nothing against curls, I had to admit that with Mystic’s hair being as long as it was, the curls didn’t look good on her, and she was all for the haircut in order to get rid of two months of quarantine hair and as a way to say ‘screw you’ to Cecelia.

I was a bit surprised that I was helping out with this, not having much experience with hair styling, but I got to help, and it wasn’t long before Mystic’s hair was to her chin, the curls were gone, it was straightened, and only the ends were curled just enough to shape her face.

“Yes, girl!" Bretman declared snapped his fingers as Mystic modeled the new hairstyle. "You show that b*ch!”

“That's my girl!" Ivy exclaimed excitedly.

"Hell yeah!" Andrea R. exclaimed, clapping her hands.

“It's a good look for you, Mystic," I complimented, nodding from where I was sitting on a backward chair. "How do you feel about it?”

Mystic shrugged, for she was glad to have all that hair cut off. “Honestly, it takes so much weight off of my head,” she stated. “Doll or not, I needed this haircut. But also.…f*, Cecelia Annesley.”

“We Stan a rebellious queen!" Gabbie whooped loudly, making me cringe due to my sensitive hearing.

"I gotta admit, she annoys the f* outta me sometimes," Candy Pop said with a sigh. "But I'm liking her decision. Short hair doesn't look too bad on her.”

“I don't understand why I didn't get taken, though,” I said with a sigh and then felt like kicking myself for saying that when they all looked at me. _‘Nice going, Delta, so much for keeping your negativity to yourself!’_

“I think you should be thankful that you _didn'_ _t_ _,”_ Nikita pointed out.

“I know.” I nodded, knowing that she was right, but now that I’ve voiced my thoughts, I couldn’t stop the negative feelings from rising up inside me anymore. “But it's bugging me. I feel like she doesn't think I'm good enough.” _‘A feeling that I’m all_ too _familiar with.’_

Bretman did his best reassure me. “Honey, that's a good thing," he reassured me. "You don't need that b*ch's validation. You're enough as you are.”

I knew that he was right, but I still couldn’t help but sigh, still feeling that pang in my heart.

Mystic, however, knew where I was coming from. “I mean,” she said thoughtfully, looking at me with an understanding expression. “I kinda see where she might be coming from. Dolls are supposed to be pretty. Is that what you mean?”

I nodded sadly.

“Girl, you cute," Bretman told me as Manny and Nikita nodded in agreement. "Don't let that b*ch make you think you're not. We've got your back.”

Alice nodded. “100%.”

I felt better and smiled slightly, which got smiles out of everyone, and I decided to ask something that I hadn’t dared asked the other girls. “What…what did it feel like, by the way?” I asked Mystic. “I mean, only if you wanna answer.”

Mystic thought about what happened while she was stuck as a doll. “It felt…like I was in my body, but also not,” she recalled, shivering a little. “Like I wasn't fully _in_ my body. It felt more like…my soul inside of a shell that looked like me, if you get what I'm saying.”

“Yeah, that kinda sums it up," Lydia agreed, and the other girls were nodding in agreement. "Like a ghost in a shell.”

“It's not a pleasant feeling, if that's what you want to know," Alice added, sighing. "I felt like I was off-balance every second I was stuck in there.”

“And you couldn’t move…anything?” I asked, now wishing that I hadn’t asked.

Mystic shook her head. “I couldn't grip my fingers, move my arms, I couldn't even close my eyes,” she admitted, tearing up. “All I could do was shed tears. It was terrifying.”

“Shh." Ivy went over and hugged her. "S'okay now, love. She can't get in 'ere.”

I wished that I hadn’t asked, but I now had a better understanding of the kind of hell that my friends had gone through, and I hoped that Ivy was right, that Cecelia wouldn’t be able to get into the base and go after Mystic again.

But deep down, I knew that it was very likely Cecelia would try and do something to get Mystic back, and that we haven’t seen the last of Cecelia.

To Be Continued…

*****

_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Delta ended up voicing what she'd been feeling since learning that Cecelia was targeting *certain* girls, and everyone is being supportive.
> 
> Bye for now! R&R everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully Delta won't be too useless in this storyline, but even I don't know for sure. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


End file.
